Can Someone Please Tell Me the Colour of My Front Door?
Sometimes, it’s about more than just opinion
The sky is blue. Grass is green. These are things we are taught as children and all know to be true.
Except, the sky — tonight, as I look at it — is pink. Soon it will be black. And this afternoon I moved a bucket that had been left on the lawn, where the grass beneath was a yellowy, greyish brown.
Colour, it turns out, is subjective. I think most people will agree that the average Ferrari is red, and that Italian sports teams play in blue. But is the sun yellow, or is it orange? And we all know the colours of the rainbow end with indigo and violet, but are they both not just purple?
Okay, maybe not. When you look at examples of each lined up, the differences are clear — but you won’t catch me correcting a kid for lumping them all together.
My partner might, though — she’s an art teacher, and knows more about colour than I ever will. Our kids were producing colour-wheels before they could speak, while I still struggle to remember what each pairing of primary colours makes.
So you’d think I’d be out of my depth, picking a fight with her in this department. But the thing is, we’re not talking about absolutes. When something isn’t black or white, you…
